Take a look at "The Freedom to Conduct Research, Write, and Share Ideas Without Fear of Violence is Fundamental to American Democracy," a public statement released yesterday by 23 academic organizations or their boards. The statement calls for "all parties [to] respect the rights of others to disagree without fear of violent reprisal."
Peter Wood of the National Association of Scholars provides additional context for this statement from an alternative point of view, as summarized by Instapundit here.